Lizzy noticed the shift before anyone else did.
Ben's eyes lingered a little longer during their conversations, his laughter warmer, more personal. But she didn't let herself believe it meant anything. Not when Funmi was still sending him late-night voice notes and tagging him in memes about "my kind of man."
Lizzy kept her distance partly out of loyalty, partly out of fear. She was used to being the background character in someone else's story.
Until that day at the garden.
They were alone, tending to the college's community plants. Lizzy was pruning a stubborn rose bush when Ben handed her a water bottle and sat beside her on the grass. The sun had dipped low, casting a soft orange hue over everything.
"Do you ever wish you could run away from it all?" he asked suddenly.
She blinked, surprised. "From what?"
He hesitated. "From expectations. From people who think they know you."
Lizzy looked away, fingers tracing the edges of a leaf. "All the time."
There was a silence between them that didn't feel uncomfortable. It felt... honest.
Ben finally spoke again. "You don't talk much, Lizzy. But when you do, it stays with me."
She met his eyes. "Talking hasn't always felt safe."
His expression softened. "I hope it can be with me."
Her heart thudded once. Twice. And then she stood, brushing dirt from her palms. "I should get back."
Ben watched her walk away, feeling the weight of all the things they didn't say.
He wanted to tell her he liked her not Funmi. He wanted to be brave.
But courage, like healing, doesn't come all at once.
And Lizzy? She wasn't sure she believed in anyone's affection anymore.
Not yet